- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: National Geographic; Original edition (Jun 16 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1426204582
- ISBN-13: 978-1426204586
- Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 1.8 x 17.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 240 g
- Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#320,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #41 in Books > Nonfiction > Education > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauri > Slang & Idioms
- #91 in Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Slang & Idioms
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
An "amusing look at cultural similarities"—Will Safire, New York Times
"A delightful celebration of the wit, insight, and poetic genius to be found in everyday language" —Steven Pinker, Harvard University Professor and author of The Stuff of Thought
"A delightful celebration of the wit, insight, and poetic genius to be found in everyday language" —Steven Pinker, Harvard University Professor and author of The Stuff of Thought
Book Description
"I’m not hanging noodles on your ears." In Moscow, this curious, engagingly colorful assertion is common parlance, but unless you’re Russian your reaction is probably "Say what?" The same idea in English is equally odd: "I’m not pulling your leg." Both mean: Believe me.
As author Jag Bhalla demonstrates, these amusing, often hilarious phrases provide a unique perspective on how different cultures perceive and describe the world. Organized by theme—food, love, romance, and many more—they embody cultural traditions and attitudes, capture linguistic nuance, and shed fascinating light on "the whole ball of wax." For example, when English-speakers are hard at work, we’re "nose to the grindstone," but industrious Chinese toil "with liver and brains spilled on the ground" and busy Indians have "no time to die."
If you’re already fluent in 10 languages, you probably won’t need this book, but you’ll "get a kick out of it" anyhow; for the rest of us, it’s a must. Either way, this surprising, often thought-provoking little tome is gift-friendly in appearance, a perfect impulse buy for word lovers, travelers, and anyone else who enjoys looking at life in a riotous, unusual way. And we’re not hanging noodles from your ear.
As author Jag Bhalla demonstrates, these amusing, often hilarious phrases provide a unique perspective on how different cultures perceive and describe the world. Organized by theme—food, love, romance, and many more—they embody cultural traditions and attitudes, capture linguistic nuance, and shed fascinating light on "the whole ball of wax." For example, when English-speakers are hard at work, we’re "nose to the grindstone," but industrious Chinese toil "with liver and brains spilled on the ground" and busy Indians have "no time to die."
If you’re already fluent in 10 languages, you probably won’t need this book, but you’ll "get a kick out of it" anyhow; for the rest of us, it’s a must. Either way, this surprising, often thought-provoking little tome is gift-friendly in appearance, a perfect impulse buy for word lovers, travelers, and anyone else who enjoys looking at life in a riotous, unusual way. And we’re not hanging noodles from your ear.
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Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Mostly useless...,
This review is from: I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears and Other Intriguing Idioms From Around the World (Paperback)
Behind an interesting facade a book totally void of ideas or fun. Infantile illustrations that simply take out space. Mostly useless...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews) 27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A funny, revealing and thoroughly enjoyable book,
By Kamal Hathi - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears and Other Intriguing Idioms From Around the World (Paperback)
I just got the book today, to give it as a gift. As I started to scan through it I found myself smiling and then laughing out aloud. Then I found myself talking aloud arguing with the book.I am usually a pretty stable sort, but this is a very well written book and presented in a nice engaging manner that literally pulls you in. I am enjoying this tremendously and have ordered a second copy for myself (this one is a gift and I will have to part with it). To quote the book, this can "make the chickens laugh". 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
fun but...,
By J. Daly - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears and Other Intriguing Idioms From Around the World (Paperback)
This was a fun, quick read (actually, more like browsing a catalog). Only problem was that I asked a number of friends who hailed from many of the nations listed in the book about the local idioms listed in the volume and often got a curious look--like, I've never heard that one myself. Maybe things got lost in translation. Anyway, I think this would be a perfect book to have on a coffee table for a party--people would browse through and shout out different ones with joy. Nice job!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fun Read,
By Tamara Blackwell "Avid Book Reader" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears and Other Intriguing Idioms From Around the World (Paperback)
I found this book very interesting and entertaining. The only thing that would have made it better, was if he had used all the entries in a typical sentence to aid in understanding usage.
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